A group of more than 35 protesters gathered before Monday's commissioners meeting outside Mt. Lebanon's municipal building, chanting against a plan for a deer cull.

They held signs that said, "Mt. Lebo is not a testing ground," and braved the cold in an effort to sway their commissioners to stop a deer cull.

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"To a certain degree, almost like cruel fascism," said Jason Margolis a Mt. Lebanon resident.

Margolis said he's fired up over a plan to kill up to 150 deer in his township to help reduce their population.

He calls the deer cull inhumane and unnecessary.

"Mostly, a group of elite elitist people who want to protect their precious gardens and are not thinking of the larger community and the larger environment and what's really ethical and moral," said Margolis.

The plan calls for corral traps. A contractor is hired to bait, trap and kill the deer at close range at several designated locations, like parks. The cost? $500 per deer. The total would not exceed 75,000, said David Brumfield, commissioner.

"I hate that we have to kill them, but I don't want to wait until someone dies," said Brumfield.

Brumfield says his primary concern is residents safety and said the cull could reduce more than 1 percent of injury causing motor vehicle accidents. He said they've seen a dramatic increase in deer-human interaction, from vehicular collisions to threatening behavior.

"Not about safety. It's about precious gardens," said Margolis.

For years, Brumfield said they've looked into other options but said Pennsylvania is limited.

He said they're not allowed to transport deer out of their area.

"We discussed the idea of contraception, but the drugs that would be used are illegal in Pennsylvania for that purpose," said Brumfield.

Sterilization is the second part of Mt. Lebanon's deer control management plan, but that sterilization permit has not been approved by the state. Brumfield said they hope to use the cull for a couple years, then move to sterilization for the long term. Sterilization would cost from $600 to $1,000 per deer, said Brumfield.

"I still get more people from Mt. Lebanon encouraging this culling effort than I do discouraging us," said Brumfield.

"It's a fine line for how we treat animals and how we treat human beings," said Margolis.

The program would end by March 31.

One park where the cull is expected, Twin Hills, is owned by Mt. Lebanon, but the majority of the property is in Scott Township.